I adore Peter Max's work--he worked with the Beatles among others. Peter was one of the first artists I ever interviewed for the newspaper, and I wondered if he'd be rambling and difficult to talk to. But he was erudite, thoughtful and wise and a great conversationalist, someone completely at home with himself and the world. I especially loved his stories of growing up as a refugee child in Shanghai, since I share his great love of Asian art and culture. (If you want to see something truly beautiful, visit the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco--www.asianart.org.)
The wonderful documentary film "Shanghai Ghetto" tells the story of the Jewish families who fled there, and seeing it soon after I interviewed Peter made me feel even more connected to him.
I thought a while before coming up with my lead for this piece, but when I focused on the feelings Peter had evoked during our talk, it came right away: A story fit for the Arabian Nights....
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